Container construction



p 5, 1939- R. E. DODGE 2,171,919

CONTAINER cons'rnucnon Filed Feb. 25, 1938 VE' RAY E. DODGE Patented Sept. 5, 1939 PATENT OFFICE CONTAINER CONSTRUCTION Ray E. Dodge, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Dodge, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of II- linois Application February 25, 19.38, Serial No; 192,487

4 Claims.

The present invention relates in general to a container construction and is more particularly concerned with an improved cup construction which may be utilized in connection with trophy 5 cups, cocktail cups, etc.

While my improved container construction is susceptible of use in a variety of different types of containers, I have chosen for purposes of illustration to describe its use in connection with a cup such as used as a trophy.

I-Ieretofore, in the construction of trophy cups, it has been the usual practice to form the cup body and stem of the cup independently and thereafter secure these two parts together as by brazing or soldering. As is the general practice in connection with trophy cups, the cup is mounted on a supporting base which may be of wood, Bakelite or any other appropriate composition. In such arrangements, it was the practice to secure the cup to the base by means of a screw which was anchored in a cross member at the bottom of the stem and extended through an opening in the base, a nut being threaded on this screw to hold the base forcibly connected against the bottom of the stem. The disadvantage of this construction was that when lateral forces were applied against the cup as by dropping or otherwise, it not infrequently happened that the cup body was broken from the upper end of the stem at the point where it was soldered, brazed or otherwise connected to the stem.

Moreover, in trophy cups it is, as a general rule, the practice to provide a ring or sleeve below the stem, in some cases this sleeve being removably surrounding a portion of the base. This sleeve serves the purpose of providing space for suitable inscriptions, etc., where it is not desired to put the inscriptions on the cups proper.

Having in mind the disadvantages and ob- 40 jections to the foregoing construction, the present invention contemplates an improved cup construction which will be less costly to manufacture, and in which the inscription sleeve is made a part of the supporting structure of the cup, and in which the possibility of breaking the body of the cup from the stem is entirely eliminated.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved cup construction which will enable the body and stem to be integrally formed and spun from a single tubular member.

A further object is to provide improved means for removably securing a cup having a stem to a base structure in such manner that forces applied laterally against the cup body will be transmitted to the base independently of the stem, and vice versa.

A still further object is to provide improved means in a cup having an open bottom and stem for closing the cup bottom and connecting the 5, cup and stem to a base structure.

Still another object is to provide an improved cup construction in which a sectionalized support may be removably connected to the cup proper, and when so connected will form a rigid assembly with the cup.

It is also an object to provide an improved trophy cup that is constructed of a plurality of independent parts which may be removably interconnected to form a rigid assembly without 1.5- the necessity of utilizing solder, brazing, etc., to interconnect said parts.

In accordance with the general'features of the present invention, it is proposed to provide a hollow cup body and integrally formed stem which is also of hollow construction, so that the cup body and stem may be spun'from a single tubular stock member. In forming the cup body and stem in this manner, an opening at the jointure oi the bottom of the cup body and the upper end of the stem defines an open passageway. A Washer is seated in the bottom of the cup and a fastening screw disposed therethrough so that its head abuts the washer. This screw projects out of the bottom of the stern and may be extended through an opening in a suitable base member which also serves as a clamp to abuttingly engage the lower end of an inscription sleeve, the upper end of this sleeve being in abutment with the lower end of the stem. By screwing a suitable nut on the threaded end of the screw, the cup, stem, sleeve, and base may all be clamped in assemble-d relation to form a rigid structure, yet may be easily disassembled simply by removing the nut from the screw. Since in this construction, the stem is integrally formed with the cup body, the possibility of breaking the stem from the cup proper is entirely eliminated.

Where it is desired to utilize my invention in connection with cups or containers for a fluid, the washer may be replaced by means of a frustoconical insert which may be disposed in the bottom of the cup body and secured around its periphery as by soldering, brazing or the like to the cup body. This insert on its under side is provided with a downwardly opening threaded socket which may receive the threaded end of a. securing screw by which the cup may be secured to a suitable support as in the manner explained above. .It will be apparent that this insert closes the bottom of the cup and also forms a part of the securing means by which the cup is secured to a supporting structure.

Other objects and features of the present invention will more fully appear from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment as well as a modified construction thereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a cup or container embodying the features of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view through the same, showing the cooperating relationship of the cup supporting parts and also the improved manner for inter-connecting these parts to form a rigid assembly; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view showing an alternate arrangement of the parts at the jointure between the top of the stem and cup body, which is particularly applicable for cups which are to contain a liquid.

As shown on the drawing:

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, there is disclosed a trophy cup which,'in this instance, comprises a hollow body III which is integrally connected at its bottom with a hollow stem II. It will be noted that the interior of the cup body and the interior of the stem are interconnected by a passageway I2, and at thev jointure between the bottom of the cup body and the upper end of the stem the wall material is formed into an interior shoulder l3.

In the particular arrangement disclosed in the drawing, the lower end of the stem is expanded outwardly and terminatesin a downwardly extending peripheral flange M. This flange is arranged to extend over the upper peripheral edge of a tubular sleeve member I5 which may be utilized in addition to its function as a part of the cup support for receiving any suitable or desired indicia or description thereon.

' .The lowermost end of the tubular member I5 is associated with a base I6 which may be of any desired construction, but in the present instance is shown as being of frusto-conical shape having circumferentially extending grooves or flutes I! therein. The uppermost end of the base is closed by an end wall l8 having a centrally disposed aperture I9 therein. At its periphery, the base at its upper end is provided with a circumferentially extending groove 29 for receiving the lowermost edge of tubular member l5. With the lowermost end of this member extending over the upper end of the base portion, the wall I8 will be inwardly disposed relative to the lower end edge of member I5.

For securing the parts together, a washer 2| is disposed in the bottom of the cup with its periphery seated on the circumferential shoulder l3 at the jointure between the cup body and the upper end of the stem. A screw 22 extending longitudinally of the stem and tubular member I5 is disposed with its head 23 bearing against the washer, and its threaded end 24 extending through the opening 19 in the top wall of the base. By means of a suitable nut such as a thumb nut 25, the base, tubular member l5 and cup proper may be clamped into assembled relation.

,With the arrangement just described, it will be apparent that any lateral forces applied against the cup body will be transmitted or communicated through the screw -22 to the base independently of the stem andtubular member l5.

This arrangement provides a very practical and advantageous construction and eliminates any possibility of the cup body being broken away from the stem as in the constructions where the upper end of the stem is soldered, brazed or otherwise secured to the bottom of the cup body.

Moreover, this arrangement enables the use of tubular sleeves N3 of different height which can be assembled into the cup arrangement, without destroying the symmetry thereof.

Although the foregoing construction is particularly adapted for use in cups which are not required to contain a liquid, as in a trophy cup,

;the invention is readily adapted by slight modification for use in cups which are required to form a container for a liquid, such as a cocktail cup or the like.

As disclosed in Figure 3, when the cup is to form a container for a liquid, instead of using a washer 2|, I provide a frusto-conical insert 26 which is disposed in inverted position in the bottom'of the cup. The upper surface of this insert may be dished as shown at 21 to form a continuation of the interior surface of the cup at this point or position.

. In order to prevent leakage, the peripheral edge of this insert may be brazed, soldered or otherwise secured to the cup wall as shown at 28.

The under side of this insert is provided with a downwardly opening threaded socket 29 adapted to receive the threaded end'of a screw member 22' which may be constructed at its lowermost end in the same manner as shown in Figure 2 for securing the same to the base IE or other support member.

While'I have shown in Figure 2 a supporting structure including the tubular sleeve member !5, it will, of course, be obvious that this member could be omitted and the stem directly applied to the top of the basemember.

When the construction of my invention is used in connection with a trophy cup, the cup body may, if desired, be provided with diametrically disposed handles 30 and 3| which may be of any desired shape. I have shown curved handles in the present instance formed of metallic strips which are connected at their uppermost ends adjacent the cup brim as by soldering or brazing, and at their lowermost ends adjacent the cup bottom.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that the present invention provides an improved container construction which is particularly' adapted for trophy cups; a construction in which the body and stem of the cup are integrally formed and may be spun from a single tubular member; which includes improved means for removably securing the cup and stem to a base structure in such manner that forces applied laterally against the cup body will be transmitted to the base independently of the stem, and vice versa; which embodies a cup having an open bottom and includes improved means for closing the cup bottom and connecting the cup to a base structure; which contains a sectionalized support for the cup proper which may be removably connected and when so connected will form a rigid assembly with the cup; and which embodies a trophy cup construction wherein a plurality of independent parts may be removably interconnected to form a rigid assembly without the necessity of utilizing solder, brazing etc. to interconnect said parts.

It is, of course, to be understood that although I have described in detail several embodiments of my invention, the invention is not to be thus limited, but only insofar as defined by the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a container construction such as a cup, a hollow cup body, a hollow contracted stem integrally formed with said body, said body and. stem having their interiors in communication, a base member in abutting relation with the lower end of the stem and having an aperture, a washer at the jointure of the upper end of the stem and the bottom of the body having its periphery seating against the bodys bottom, a screw extending through said washer and projecting through said base opening, the head of the screw engaging the washer, and a nut threadedly associated with the projecting end of said screw, whereby the body, stem, and base may be clamped in assembled relation.

2. In an open top metal container construction such as a cup, a tubular body portion having an integrally formed tubular portion projecting downwardly from its lowermost end, an elongate member extending through the downwardly projecting portion, an element at the uppermost end of the elongate member in peripheral engagement with the adjacent inner surface of the body portion, a base structure in abutting engagement with the lowermost end of the downwardly projecting portion and having an aperture for receiving the lowermost end of the elongate member, and means associated with the latter end of the elongate member for retaining said base structure against removal from its position in engagement with the lowermost end of the projecting portion, said base and element retaining the elongate member out of engagement with the projecting portion.

3. In an open top metallic container construction such as a cup, a tubular body portion having its lowermost end contracted and terminating in an integrally formed downwardly projecting tubular stem portion, an elongate member extending through the stem portion, a. circular member at the uppermost end of the elongate member in peripheral engagement with the inner surface of the body portion adjacent its junction with the stem portion, said circular member having its upper surface dished to form a continuation of the inner surface of the body portion and define a bottom at the location of the stem portion, a base structure having an aperture for receiving the lowermost end of the elongate member, and means associated with this end of the elongate member for retaining said base structure against removal from the elongate member and in engagement with the lowermost end of the projecting stem portion.

4. A metallic trophy cup having an integral tubular body portion and tubular stem portion formed from a single piece of tubular stock, an elongate member extending through the stem portion, a separately formed tubular member forming an extension for said stem portion and adapted to provide an inscription receiving surface, a circular member at the uppermost end of the elongate member in peripheral engagement with the inner surface of the body portion adjacent its junction with the stem portion, a centrally apertured base member for said extension member, said elongate member having its lowermost end extending through said aperture, and removable clamping means associated with said latter end of the elongate member and cooperating with the circular member to clampingly secure the body portion, stem portion, extension member and base member in assembled relation.

RAY E. DODGE. 

